A service provider, such as an entity that operates a provider network, may offer computing resources, such as computing instances and storage resources to customers (who may also be referred to as entities or users). A customer may be any person or entity who accesses computing resources of a service provider. The service provider may, for example, provide a computing and network services platform. Multiple customers may access the computing and network services platform via a computing node and issue instructions to the web services platform. The computing and network services platform may be also be referred to as a multi-tenant computing and network services platform to denote that multiple customers may access the platform. The computing and network services platform may respond to instructions by performing computing operations on one or more of a plurality of computing nodes that make up the computing and network services platform.
Cloud computing refers to a computing environment for enabling on-demand network access to a pool of computing resources. As used herein, a cloud or cloud infrastructure may refer to any digital-based environment that allows for the storage of digital assets and the execution of processes or binary code on a networked array of computing device(s). A cloud can provide additional features such as database access, web access, network access, process instantiation and/or instancing, and any other form of digital processing/manipulation/communication/storage that occurs within the cloud infrastructure.
Many cloud computing services involve virtualized resources and may take the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if the virtualized resources were programs installed locally on their own computers. The data stored for users of such systems are typically hosted in computing systems located in a computing data center. A data center is a facility that houses computer systems and various networking, storage, and other related components. Data centers may, for example, provide computing services to businesses and individuals as a remote computing service or to provide “software as a service.” To facilitate utilization of data center resources, virtualization technologies may allow a single physical computing machine to host one or more instances of virtual machines that appear and operate as independent computer machines to a connected computer user. With virtualization, the single physical computing device can create, maintain, or delete virtual machines in a dynamic manner.